Life in the Bay Area

Housing

Most fellows live within a 10 mile radius of Stanford in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Mountain View, or Redwood City. Living in San Francisco makes for a long commute, but it has been done. During fellowship, you will end up spending a number of months at the VA and on average, 2 months a year going down to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC), so this may be something to consider when choosing a place to live. While the Bay Area is arguably one of the nicest places to live, it unfortunately also has some of the most expensive housing in the country. Here are some resources to help you find a place to live.

As fellows, you are eligible to get a Stanford University Courtesy Card (Stanford ID). This give you access to a number of campus facilities including libraries and athletic facilities (http://cardinalrec.stanford.edu. To get your Courtesy Card, take your photo ID and go to:

Stanford is within 40 miles of three major California cities: San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. With this comes world-class arts, theater, music, and professional teams from all of the major sports. For those who enjoy outdoor activities, the Bay Area is a paradise. On top of that, we are within easy driving distance to some of the most majestic outdoor spaces in the country, including Monterrey (1.5 hrs), Lake Tahoe (3-4 hrs) and Muir Woods (1 hr).